Frugal Inspiration From the Felines

I could learn a thing or two about frugality from an unlikely source: my cats. Sure, they may be freeloading bastards, but they are also surprisingly green.

They are great at reusing and re-purposing things. Why bother buying them a fancy commercial pet bed, when they prefer to sleep on piles of dirty laundry, in baskets of clean laundry, or even in an old box covered with plastic.

Seriously, I haven't been able to get him out of that box since I brought it out yesterday afternoon. But this is an improvement from not being able to get him out of the basement laundry basket, at least I see him more these days.

Why bother buying cat toys when they have more fun chasing a dropped piece of paper?

So in the spirit of homemade being better than store-bought, I'm trying a couple new green steps of my own this weekend.

I'm almost out of moisturizer, but instead of forking out big bucks for non-toxic store-bought brands, I bought a jar of Dr. Bronner's coconut oil, and have already been enjoying it. According to my web surfing coconut oil has a million different uses, including homemade deodorant, hair conditioner, treatment for athlete's foot, makeup remover, lip balm, cooking oil, etc.

I'm also diffusing essential oils instead of buying more scented candles or those toxic plug-in air fresheners that I've been trying to wean myself off of.

Going greener has sometimes been a very slow process for me, but at least I'm moving forward, step by step.

What was your last green step?